Grand Rapids Community College
Faculty Equated Overload/Release Time
End of Semester Report
Instructional Support & Interdisciplinary Studies
Fall, 2012
Name Diane Sparks
Faculty Assignment Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Facilitator
Note: Please take a moment to review the letter you received from the Office of the Provost. That letter describes your faculty assignment in detail.
As you complete this document, please refer to the specific tasks that you were asked to complete.
Section 1: Report of Accomplishments
Contribution
Facilitating adjunct
faculty professional
development events.
ISIS EOL Reports
Fall, 2012
Accomplishments
List and briefly describe the most
significant impact of your
accomplishments.
August 2012- Presented at
As always, I enjoyed all the
Bb Bootcamp- Bb Basics 3
workshops done with full time and
hour session.
adjunct faculty. Those sessions,
August 2012- Presented 2
both at the August Bb Bootcamp and
pre-semester workshops for
the pre-semester adjunct faculty
adjunct faculty on Building an workshops were very well received
Effective Syllabus.
and the faculty who participated had
September 2012- Facilitated very positive feedback about the
Adjunct Faculty Learning Day content. In particular, the adjunct
November 2012- Facilitated faculty, especially if they were new
Adjunct Faculty Learning Day to GRCC, were excited to go into
their classrooms at the beginning of
the semester and use the
information they learned in the
workshops offered.
At the November AFLD, Davenport
and Ferris were invited to participate
and definitely made a large
difference in the number of
participants. We did have more
List and briefly describe any barriers
you encountered.
Communication- as always, it is
important that all parties involved are
communicating regularly and clearly.
A system needs to be in place for
Ann, Jeremy and I to be on the “same
page”- so I know what is expected and
can plan AFLDs that are effective and
meeting the goals of professional
development for adjunct faculty and
the college. Find out how we can meet
more regularly either in person or
through email.
I also am having a hard time filling the
technology workshops for AFLDs. I
continue to put out requests to the EO
faculty in DLIT but not getting a lot of
response. Need to find a better way to
make that work so one person does
not have to do all the Saturday
presentations.
Davenport participants than GRCC.
They also were positive in their
verbal feedback even though one of
the most requested workshops had
to be cancelled due to presenter
illness. I think extending invitations
to other colleges is a great way to
network with faculty from other
colleges and get new perspectives.

Developing and
implementing
faculty professional
development
workshops and
events.
ISIS EOL Reports
Fall, 2012
September 2012- Continued
developing and organizing
the year’s Adjunct Faculty
Learning Days (AFLD) for
September, October,
November, January,
February and March which
included deciding on topics,
considering presenters and
contacting staff and faculty to
present.
September and NovemberFacilitated Saturday Adjunct
Faculty Learning Days.
In response to a suggestion from Ric
Underhile, we (Ann Alexander and I)
began planning the topics for the
AFLD topics around three areaspedagogy/classroom teaching
techniques, GRCC departments and
services and technology. That really
gave a good framework for planning
that was helpful in making sure we
were meeting a range of needs as
well as staying committed to actual
professional development for faculty.
In reflection, I feel like the presemester workshops were a much
more effective format and a better
use of our time than the Adjunct
Faculty Institutes that we did in the
past. It was better attended and
seemed to meet a “just in time”
need.
In the planning portion of the adjunct
faculty professional development
events, the biggest barrier is finding
people who will present at the events.
In some areas (ADA/Disability Student
Services, for example) there are a
limited number of staff/faculty who are
able to present a workshop. It is also
difficult to find faculty/staff that are
willing to give up their Saturday
mornings to present. Those who do
present are always positive about the
response they receive, but it can be
challenging to get them there in the
first place.
This semester we had a first- a
presenter cancelled at the last minute.
I would like to develop a system
where the faculty/staff submit their
presentations in advance; however, I
am worried that would discourage
possible presenters. I need to think
about it…
A new glitch in the pre-semester
workshops- we are not able this
January, as faculty, to work on the
Faculty Prep Day, which is when we
did it in the fall. Need to come up with
some alternate dates for those
workshops or alternate format.
Representing the
Center for Teaching
Excellence in campus
and community
meetings as necessary
September 2012- attended
ISIS meeting
September 2012- attended
DLIT meeting
September 2012- attended
CAP meeting- Improving the
Adjunct Experience
October 2012- attended ISIS
meeting
November 2012- attended
the CAP meeting- Improving
the Adjunct Experience
November 2012- attended
the CAP- attended subcommittee meetingIncreasing the Quality of
Teaching Experiences
Met with Ann Alexander
monthly to discuss and plan
for adjunct faculty
professional development
activities.
Note: During the course of this semester, faculty and staff within ISIS determined that promoting reflective practice, increasing student engagement,
and incorporating ILOs into faculty leadership efforts were important. Please complete the following section on Reflection with that in mind.
Section 2: Reflection
How did your accomplishments align
with your expectations?
ISIS EOL Reports
Fall, 2012
I feel like the AFLDs went well- I still would like to have had them completely set up in September, but I feel
like we have some great workshops coming up and had some excellent ones this fall. I would still like to see
better attendance, but I am not sure that Saturdays are always the best time for everyone. I also felt like the
In what ways has your work in ISIS
supported faculty members in using
reflective practice?
people invited to “welcome” the participants to the AFLD all did great presentations. Patti Trepkowski, Ric
Underhile, Paula Sullivan and Bill Faber were articulate, warm and informative.
Any time I present, I encourage faculty to think about how they could use the information gained in their own
teaching. I also ask them to share any experiences they have had related to the ideas presented. Anytime
they share their experiences, it encourages others to think about their practices and teaching.
In what ways has your work in ISIS
supported faculty members in
developing strategies for increasing
student engagement?
At every AFLD, there is at least one presentation that incorporates pedagogy/best practices offered. In those
sessions, the focus is most often on how to best engage students in learning. Whether it is Classroom
Assessment Techniques, Academic Service Learning or Brain-based Learning, we try to make sure faculty
has the opportunity to develop more strategies for engaging students.
In what ways has your work in ISIS
helped faculty members incorporate
the ILOs in their work?
Not sure at this point- I still need to consider how this would be reflected in our planning for professional
development.
If you will continue with this work
next semester, describe your next
steps.
I intend to try and formalize a timeline and system for planning for the upcoming year for professional
development. It would make it a more effective way to plan for the year and save a lot of last minute calling
and planning. I also think the more in advance faculty are aware of the upcoming offerings, the more likely
they are to plan for them.
That adjunct faculty professional development is highly valued by the participants, even if not always highly
attended. The more formalized we make this process and begin to expect some type of participation for all
adjunct faculty, particularly new adjunct faculty, I believe the more effective it will be.
What else do you want to share
about your work in ISIS this
semester?
ISIS EOL Reports
Fall, 2012